How far out do you plan out your workout schedule?

I follow a 12 week trainer online so the schedule is already planned out for 12 weeks. I just enter each week's exercises in MFP and hit the gym... bodybuilding.com has some great FREE 12 week trainers. If you are a beginner then I recommend following a structured plan until you feel comfortable creating your own workout schedule.

I'm following an 8 week running plan right now. I've been doing the same strength workout for a few months, when I get bored I'll change it up.

I have a spreadsheet with my workout schedule which has number of reps that I should do exactly, weight I need to use etc
Its planned out 48 months in advance

Uh...

That's intense.

I'm doing a specific race in April that I'm going to train for, so yesterday I sat down and planned the next 5-6 months out. Of course I'll switch it up if life gets in the way

I have a spreadsheet with my workout schedule which has number of reps that I should do exactly, weight I need to use etc
Its planned out 48 months in advance

Uh...

That's intense.

Its a long term plan to induce the maximum amount of muscle confusion

I'm fairly certain that Weider advocated just a 36 month plan for maximum gains.

You might want to reconsider your approach.

I don't plan it out at all. I've tried and when I miss a workout seeing what I was supposed to do written on the calendar makes me feel like an even bigger failure.

I am working for specific gains, so I write up a program to follow for 6-12 weeks. Generally when I am starting a program, I take a week or so of trying it out before I hammer in exactly what I'm planning to do, and then once I'm secure with what's included and the order and such, I write it down and then follow it for the planned amount of time. 6 weeks for some intro things, 8-12 for most programs, as a good length of time to see solid improvement, then change once the muscles get used to it.

I plan what I will do, but intend to increase the weight according to how I progress along the way. I don't see any point in planning the weight ahead of time where I may over- or under-estimate my gains. It's very easy to go 'okay, next is bench press', and determine the weight from what I did the previous time.

I also consider the goal of something. If I am working on a running program, then I will have my long run, my sprints/intervals, and my hills day planned out on the schedule. If I have some cardio scheduled in for the sake of cardio rather than a specific aim, I don't mind if I feel like swimming one day instead.
but usually my training plans all have a specific goal for what I'm trying to accomplish, so I therefore stick to them. Makes a lot more sense than working out just to randomly burn some calories.

I usually plan the specific length of the program when I start it, and then re-evaluate. Doesn't mean that I'll do something completely different after 12 weeks, but that I will think about what I've accomplished and where I want to go next and make any necessary changes.

I have a spreadsheet with my workout schedule which has number of reps that I should do exactly, weight I need to use etc
Its planned out 48 months in advance

slacker. i have the same thing but it includes all meals and snacks

you know drmerc....you may want to consider that....

then you know...anonymous pepperoni pizza's won't assault your mouth as often...

People plan that stuff? :-P

I generally just do what I feel like, which is admittedly not nearly enough.

For 2012 I knew every race that I was signed up for and what the training schedule would look like for each of them. So every single night/day of working out from Jan 5 - Sep 3 was planned out and on a calendar around August of last year. And then Sep 4 - Dec 8 were filled in around May of this year.

For 2013, I'm not training for any specific races, so I just have a general workout plan laid out for the first quarter of the year and then I'll re-evaluate and make modifications as needed as I near the end of that.

Usually I plan a rolling 3 months. but, it might be longer, like, if I am training for a half-marathon or something like that. But, typically, 3 months. But, that's just planning. The actual reality is about a week or two in advance, alwy rolling forward. So, about every couple days I sit down a review. Usually, if I hit it as planned, nothing changes. But, sometimes, my kids scheulde changes, and then I have to replan the next week or so.

I get a 2 wk schedule from my running coach every other Sunday. Unless something changes with my schedule like a race or sickness then it is possible I get a new schedule weekly but it's always for a 2 week period.

Well, I started my current schedule 9 weeks ago. It's a 20 week schedule. So, 5 months for this current one. However, I have my next schedule (p90x) set for immediately after. I usually have a program that I'm following, set out and my workouts scheduled, a year in advance lol

I am getting ready to start TurboFire and there are 2 schedules I am going to follow...it is going to take me all the way til the first week in July! :-)

Month at a time. But of course I'm doing set workout routines by Jillian Micheals' DVD's. I'm currently doing 2 programs. RI30 I do 5-6 times a week at night (or on a morning that I don't do YM) and YM I do every other day in the morning. Doing them back to back is harsh, but if I don't have time to split them up, it is what it is and it must be done! I like programs like these because they hold me accountable and it feels GREAT to complete them after dedicating yourself to them for a full month. Last month I did 30DS )